


Metal on the Mind

by Specks_of_Love



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Angst, Art Projects, Charge - Freeform, Drama, Friendship, Guardian - Freeform, Lambo Twins, Lots of Angst, Not a romance, OC, Pranks, Scattered fluff, Split Spark, Sunny is a jerk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-19
Updated: 2016-06-01
Packaged: 2018-05-27 18:29:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6295051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Specks_of_Love/pseuds/Specks_of_Love
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She is impulsive and opinionated.<br/>He is vain and self-absorbed.<br/>But she is his charge, and he is her Guardian.<br/>And while all they do is argue and fling harsh truths, something new is evolving in both of them. Something foreign is blooming, becoming aware and exposed to reality. Their personalities are coaxed by one another from their mental shells...<br/>They will either evolve together...<br/>Or they will unravel.<br/>Permanently.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Lunch Tirade

**Author's Note:**

> This is imported from my FFN account. And while 16 chapters have been posted there (+ an AN) the chapters posted there are all about 2 or 3 years old and unedited past chapter 2. The chapters I post here are the updated versions. I'm trying to keep the plot the same, but things will change. Just as a warning.

**Well, how’s this for a fresh start? It’s March of 2016 and I’m finally getting around to editing this thing to an acceptable level -more or less- so it’s not so cringe-worthy. Sure, it’s nowhere near as bad as INROMCI is -cause’ that crap is just plain...ugh- but hey, if I can spruce this chapter up a bit then things will be great!**

**Funny thing though, this thing is well over 2K word-wise. That’s a lot longer than most of my chapters nowadays…**

**How the hell did I manage to edit all that way back when? XD**

* * *

 

**~oOo~ INITIATING CHAPTER REVISIONS...**

**~oOo~ REVISIONS COMPLETE.**

**~oOo~ PLEASE PROCEED TO CHAPTER...**

* * *

 

I was never one for sitting still so one could say that school was rather challenging. Maybe it was the location, maybe it was the board of education -the hell if I knew- but there was a genuine lack of hands-on projects...which was ironic given I was currently sitting in my art class. Speaking of art class, one would think actual art would occur regularly.

Nope.

Instead I sat in a desk, fidgeting and ansty while the teacher droned on and on about the mid-term projects. Sure, art was still one of my favorite classes when there was actually something to do, but listening to her drone on and on was just...

"MRS. HARMONIA!" shouted the teacher.

"Listening…" I replied with a semi-awkward grin.

"Would you be so kind as to stop writhing and squirming in your seat? The creaking of the wood is most distracting." She complained softly.

“Writhing and squirming? Like as in both and not just one?” I inquired cheekily.

“MRS. HARMONIA!”

"Sorry, sorry, I’ll hush. I gotcha’ professor!" I grinned giving my 'favorite' teacher a two-fingered salute.

"The things I go through to put up with you child." She groaned under her breath, but the class seemed to have heard her anyway.

I looked around the room to qualm my wriggling. A few people were still snickering at my restlessness. When a few started pointing I pig-nosed at them. Either in shock or disgust they stopped laughing and stared. I rolled my eyes when some even went as far as to do it right back. Dismissing the whole shebacle with a shrug, I did my best to focus on what the teacher was saying instead.

"As I was saying before our small interruption, I'll be choosing the project partners this mid-term." She called out, granting me a pointed look. 

A few collective groans rang out among my classmates, though I took pride in the absence of my worry. I knew just about everybody in the class except for this tall dark haired kid who seat claimed its spot in the farthest corner of the room. He really never said anything to anyone so I really didn't care for him. Though what chance was there that fates would be dickish enough to pair me up with the one kid -out of a class of sixteen- that I didn’t know?

Either way I realized I didn't know what the project was -my fault entirely for not paying attention- and raised a single hand to ask. When the teacher ignored my hand I waved it around a few times to escalate the effect. After a few minutes, the other students started to stare and the teacher finally gave up trying to ignore my endeavors. She gave an exasperated sigh and cast a pointed glare in my direction.

"For the sake of our remaining class time, Harmonia, what is it?" she asked with her tone heavily hinting her annoyance.

"What is the project about?" I asked, trying to sound innocent.

"If you had been listening to me instead of doing your little wiggle dance you would have caught the project assignment." she growled slightly. Another round of snickers erupted from the students. 

"Could you tell me it anyway?" I asked hopefully.

"Would somebody be kind enough to announce the project to Miss Harmonia?" She called out to the crowd.

At first nobody even twitched a pinky then my sister Mowgli raised her hand tentatively. When the teacher nodded to her she rose from her seat and turned to me. Giving me a small wave before opening her mouth.

"The project was to create an original work of art or take the best drawing you ever made and write a small seven page essay about it. But the essay has to be a fictional story using the content of you picture. Such as a picture of a person that person you drew could be the character in your story. If it's a big mess of color then you use your imagination with the colors. Make sure you and the partner the teacher chooses has both made a contribution to the project or you can only receive partial credit." She explained sounding just like our 'instructor'.

I thanked her and gave her an I-owe-you-one look before she took her seat once more. Grinning I turned to our teacher.

"I got it!" I chimed in a sing-song tune.

This little action caused everyone to burst out laughing. I swung my dark brown hair around to the other side of my head causing the bleach golden ends and electric blue streaks to whap me in the face. I rolled my dull dandelion irises at my klutzy move.

" _ Smooth Harmonia, Smooth."  _ I shook my head, sheepish to think I could have pulled off a hair flip.

My sister seemed to have noticed. She snickered at me but I just flashed her a heart shape with my hands. Bless that kid and her artistic talent. I couldn’t count the number of times having her in my advanced art classes had saved my skin.

Flipping the edge of my binder up, I began to sift through the doodles and drawings I had in the tab labeled -BEST- though as I flipped through them I began to frown. A lot of them were pretty bare or simply too...ill-fitting to be used in a project like this.

Crap, I guess it decided on my partner. Luckily for me the teacher had been reading off partners and my name hadn't been called yet. I scanned the room. My friends Cassie, Miko, Bailey, Sherbet, and Luca had been paired off with Tyler, Daniel, Hatsura, Vela, and Samuel respectively. That was ten of the students out of sixteen. I frowned as Kat got paired with Serena and Mowgli with Dylan. That left me and…

"Harmonia Jones and Jackson Darby will work together as partners." announced the teacher.

"Who in the world is…?" I began looking around.

My nose ran into a soft belly as I whipped my face around to look for this “Darby” kid. The belly backed up, revealing the tall kid with dark hair. I muttered insults at karma and fate as I 'discovered' who I'd be working with this coming project.

Of course the universe had been listening.

"Uh, wuzzup?" I asked, quietly.

"Not much, I guess we're partners, huh?" he shrugged, voice tonelessly indifferent to the situation.

"That we are, that we are." I replied with a pathetic attempt to look happy.

"So I guess I'll see you in the library after school?" he asked.

"How about this, at 8:15 tomorrow we meet at the Jameson Warehouse outside of town. It’s just past the forest. I can mark it down or draw a map if you need me to.”

"WHAT? Why?" he gawked, looking stricken. 

"Because I have kickboxing class till' 5:55 and I have to watch my sister afterwards.” I shrugged, “and as for the Warehouse, it's a pretty funny story. The place was condemned and whatnot but they couldn't demolish it without breaking a few too many laws.” I winked, “So since this is Jasper and we don't have the money to do anything else with it, I took the liberty of making a little “art studio” of sorts out of it for my sister and I.”

“Art studio?”

“Well yeah, I mean...paint isn't good on floors and too much can leak through the floors of your house if it's old -speaking from experience here- so the warehouse was a pretty nice gem to put some use to.” I laughed, “I'd watch a few of ThreadBanger’s videos of you want a general idea of what we do from time to time.” 

The slack-jawed look of shock on his face was priceless. 

"You're kidding…" he accused in disbelief.

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" I said purposefully looking at him with a blank expression.

"Well…no." he stammered.

"Then we're good. So 8:15 tomorrow morning at the Jameson Warehouse. Just tell your mom you're doing your art project in the woods. Which you are." I shrugged in response.

"Well alright…if that's what'll work. I have to work at K.O. Burgers today, anyway." He muttered in reply.

"Great, so we're clear?" I asked sticking out my hand.

"Clear as crystal." He nodded somewhat reluctantly.

Right as I grinned the bell rang signaling the end of fourth period. I wrenched my hand from his iron tense grasp and gathered up my crap. Once everything was shoved and or stuffed into my bulgy satchel or laptop back which served as 'thing I stuffed crap in' and 'makeshift backpack', respectively; I raced past the daytime chatters in the hallway and made a beeline for the cafeteria doors. 

I was especially excited for today because it was the one day of the month for double french-fry servings. I swerved around the open doorway to find, to my immediate pleasure, a short line. I hopped straight to the back of the line nabbing a circle pizza -the better and less greasy version of rectangular pizza- two servings of fries, a thing of peaches, a small salad, and a large bottle of apple juice. Considering what the school usually offered as what passed for a lunch, this was the Holy Grail, in my opinion, of a schools’ hot lunch choices.

I quickly whipped out my lunch card and tapped my foot as the cashier slowly rang up my lunch. Retrieving my lunch card and promptly cramming it in my pocket, I proceeded -carefully- dash to my lunch table and 'chow down' on my prized lunch choices. I was nearly halfway done before the regular 'earlies' started to show up and file into line. I watched as the inevitable shoving took place as jocks, cheerleaders, apparent "losers", and the lovely nerds I appreciated, filed into line. 

Along with the original Goths and norms, I could spot the stick-outs or better known to me as: my friends. Once all my friends made their way to 'our' table, number 7, I started to look for Jack. I knew basically nothing about him. I hadn't even spotted him yet when I received a tap on the shoulder from Sherbet.

"Yeah? What is it?" I asked, half ignoring her.

"Who are you looking for this time?" she asked with a teasing tone. I rolled my eyes and playfully shoved her arm. 

"A kid named Jackson Darby, ya' know him?" I asked, trying for a subtle tone.

I didn't think it was such a big deal until everyone started to quiet down. Even Mandy, who was always chattering, even in class, hushed her usual mile-minute-chatter. I stared at the group of girls and few stray gay guys. Nothing wrong with being gay, gay guys are pretty cool in my opinion. They were just different and so much fun to go shopping with if they were into that sorta thing. At least Landon was...he and Travis were absolutely hilarious. Either way I looked from person to person with a confused expression.

"What's wrong, did I say something...?" I trailed off nervously. 

"You haven't heard about him?" Bailey whispered in a hushed tone.

"Heard what?" I asked aloud. Causing me to receive tons of shushing from my fellow friends. “Oh huff it.” I hissed, though quieter than before, “We’re talking about an average teenager in our school, not the god forsaken Presidential Secret Service. 

My friends looked to one another, wide eyes and worried looks in place, and motioned for me to lean in closer. It was enough to weird me out. The scared looks...on all their faces? Something wasn’t right here. They looked to one another once more before turning to me, seeming to have reached some silent consensus.

"Okay here's the deal, this Darby kid is just plain mysterious." Bailey piped up.

"Okay…?" I urged on.

"Well according to what we've heard numerous times nobody sees this kid outside of school. Once school is over he just disappears off the face of the earth." Vela continued.

"Other people who noticed the same thing would watch him and report that he always goes into the desert outside of town. And it's close to that forest as well as that giant mesa." Cassie agreed. 

"And it's not just him but Rafael Esquivel and Miko Nakade too.” Sherbet added.

“But she told us the only reason she goes is so she can practice her loud guitar music without having to worry about being nagged at by her host parents.” Hatsura cocked a brow, “I mean...it’s believable if you’ve heard her play before.”

“Well...even if her guitar skills fall on the loud and harsh end of the spectrum, that’s not to say she’s not just a really good liar.” Cassie shrugged. 

“She has said she's seen that very same thing, but never thinks anything of it." Said Hatsura.

"So they're hiding something. Well if he thinks he can just disappear without helping me with m- _ our _ project, he'll be road kill before he can even take another trip out to that desert." I grinned devilishly.

We soon decided to drop all the heavy talk and such and switch over to goofing off for the remaining fifteen minutes. Thankfully too. The bunch of us weren’t really a gossip-heavy sort of group in the traditional sense of shady rumors and bad mouthing. But in the back of my mind I felt like I should be investigating this Darby kid instead of squeaking my apple juice straws through my nose.

* * *

 

**~oOo~ INITIATING TIMESKIP**

**~oOo~ TIMESKIP COMPLETE - CURRENT TIME - 3:13 PM**

* * *

 

I made sure I had all of my bags before putting all of them in my giant Duffy. With a smile in place, I proceeded to jog down the street, careful not to over-exert myself before kickboxing class. As I padded down the concrete I heard a loud rumble of an engine, but before I could turn to find the source a sick blue motorcycle sped down the street followed by a racecar with the number thirty-eight on the side. Of all people to be on that motorcycle it was the Darby kid! I called to him but received no reply, though understandable as he was already pretty far down the road anyway. With a confused shrug I kept walking until I turned the corner to find the door of the kickboxing studio being opened by Darby himself. I rushed to meet him.

"I didn't know you took this class." I commented casually before he could even place a foot inside.

"Harmonia! Uh, hi what are you doing here?" he asked panicking slightly.

"Dude, I thought we covered this. This is why I can't make it to the warehouse until 6:15. Remember that little conversation?" I asked with harmless rap of my knuckles against his head.

"Well…yeah. But something came up I can't make it…tomorrow" he said calmly.

"What came up?" I asked.

"Um, my mother is sick." He lied.

"No she's not…”

“How would you know?” Jack scoffed defensively.

“Uh...Darby, your mom comes by every other school week to give the hospital demonstrations to the students in the healthcare classes. Y’know, to help them get their CNA?” I raised a brow at him, “Hell, I said good morning to earlier today.”

“Um…”

“Want to try another answer?” I raised a brow, unimpressed. If he was going to lie he could at least put a little more effort...

"Oh right well I mean that well…I really can't tell you?" He stammered.

"Why not?"

"I just can't."

"You just don't wanna do the project." I accused falsely. I knew that wasn't why but I would find 

out one way or another.

"That isn't it at all!" he protested.

"Yeah right."

"You really want to know why?!"

"Sure, I'll bite." 

"My…dad."

"What about him?"

"My dad left my mom when I was really little. Now he's come back and I have to be there with my mother. That's why she kept me after that class."

"Fine…"

"What…do you mean?" he asked.

"Alright I believe you. Just next time I ask don't lie. Just give me a reason like its past issues or something." I explained.

"Oh…sure, whatever." he said, slightly uncomfortable.

"Well, Seeya later Jack." I waved, and walked inside the mini-gym. It was finally time to beat the shit out of that giant blue punching bag.

* * *

 

**~oOo~ POV SWITCH INITIATED - JACK DARBY**

* * *

 

"You were joking weren't you?" Arcee asked curiously.

"No I wasn't, I also was joking when I said I needed to go home instead of the base today." I replied hastily. Leaning to one side, I curved my metal friend onto my street.

Once we were safely inside the garage and away from the dangers of prying eyes I removed my helmet and set it carefully on the table. I couldn't face Arcee now. The female laid a servo on my shoulder.

"Jack…are you, alright?" she asked carefully.

"Just fine…the dad that ignored our family for years is suddenly back and I'm supposed to just be okay with that. After he left my mom and just took off. He left her to raise me on her own. I can't forgive my dad; not after he all he did." I burst out. I hadn't meant to be brash but it wasn't healthy for Arcee to be around right now. I'd just end up snapping at her again.

"Alright Jack, I can't claim to understand what kind of pain you're going through but I'll help if I can. I see you later Jack." she replied softly.

"Goodbye Arcee."

I watched as she sped off, her engine notably softer than before. I angrily tightened my grip on my black helmet. Why couldn’t things just be...simpler?

* * *

 

**~oOo~ POV SWITCH INITIATED - HARMONIA**

**~oOo~ LOCATION - KICKBOXING CLASS**

* * *

 

I ran as fast I could and gave an outward leap, pulling into a perfectly executed jumping side kick. My foot made direct contact with the mat against James's hand. Next I swept into a dizzying roundhouse kick hitting the other hand pad; before finally planting a powerful left-handed punch to the padding over his abs. he stumbled back a few good steps before catching himself. Only the many years that my thirty-four year old teacher had under his belt kept him on his feet. I gave him a confident grin before pulling my form into a respectful bow. He gave a hearty chuckle.

"Another good execution session. My star pupil is going even farther." He said thoughtfully.

"Thank you sensei." I smiled.

"So how are things at home?" he inquired, beginning his daily clean-up of the equipment.

"They're okay. My mother is still in France right now but she'll be back next week or something like that. Dad is still at work right now but he'll be back soon in time to have dinner." I mused aloud.

"I believe you are getting accustomed to not having a mother around aren't you?" he commented.

"Yeah I guess you could say that." I replied absentmindedly, I thought of jack who grew up without a dad. He must be doing worse than I am.

"Something on your mind, Starfish?" he asked.

"Nothing that I should share." I shrugged.

"Alright then." he shrugged back. “Just don’t forget, if you need to get something off your chest feel free to come talk to me.”

“Does it have to be during business hours?” I asked with a giggle, “Are three AM visits acceptable?”

“If you’re anywhere near my house at three AM don’t expect anything less than a roundhouse kick to the face. I love ya’ Starfish, truly I do, but I value my beauty sleep.” James snorted, though somehow managed to sound serious as well. 

I merely grinned at the man and made a heart with my hands, “Hearts to you too sensei.”

“...enough with the stupid hand-shapes. Get back to your drills and routines.”

“Sure th-.”

“Harmonia.”

I sighed, “Understood, Sensei.” 

* * *

 

**~oOo~ CHAPTER ENDING ACHIEVED.**

**~oOo~ INITIALIZING ENDING AUTHOR NOTES...**

**~oOo~ PLEASE PROCEED TO AUTHOR’S NOTE.**

**~oOo~ THANK YOU FOR READING!**

* * *

 

**I will be doing that robot imitation from now on. Hopefully at least; so long as you guys don’t find it too annoying or disruptive. I just thought it was a cute touch.**

**Either way, that’s the edited chapter. Next chapter needs some serious revising too. But holy cow, the new edits added like a whole new page and took the story from roughly 2,800 to 3’539 words! Score!**

**Hope the edits meet your fancy, though I will be saving a file of the original draft anyway...Thank you for reading!**


	2. The Exception of Pain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Directly copying this from my Fanfiction account is so much harder than I thought it'd be.

**  
3-17-16**

**Well, editing chapter two...the one with nearly 4,500 words. This should be fun. Though to make matters a little easier, my two characters Harmonia Cove Jones and Mowgli Janna Jones. Thus far, Mowgli hasn't really been implemented all that much.**

**Team Prime will include: Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Arcee, Ratchet, Optimus Prime, Smokescreen, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Blurr, Jazz, Ironhide, Wheeljack, and Bluestreak. Along with the humans.**

**And that should about do it. Maybe this could be considered a "spoiler" but for your sake and mind, the character list shall remain.**

**~oOo~ INITIATING CHAPTER REVISIONS**

**~oOo~ REVISIONS COMPLETE of**

**~oOo~ PLEASE PROCEED TO CHAPTER**

**~oOo~ HARMONIA POV IMPLEMENTED**

**~oOo~ LOCATION - HOME  
**   
"Mowgli…I'm going out!" I called out to my sister as I pulled on my clothing for the day. One couldn't really go wrong on a hot day in Jasper with -fitting- tank tops and cargo shorts.

Once outside in the crisp morning air I sighed contently. It had been three days since I had been paired up with Jack for the art project and I was well past prepared to drag him from the house and force him to work with me. Legalities be damned. I was not going to let his reluctance land me an F on a mid term project.

Even if that meant -in addition to breaking and entering- dragging him out of bed by the back of his underwear.

Padding towards the driveway, I couldn't help the bubble of glee that rose in my chest. One wouldn't think motorized scooters* would be sold in Jasper, Nevada. But they were...and they also had slightly illegal upgrades to boot. Honestly though, what irresponsible thrill-seeking teenager could resist the temptation of a working modification that allowed scooters to go roughly as fast as the average car?

Not this one apparently.

Stepping onto the scooter and inserting the key, I jammed the red button the moment it lit up and giggled as the motor revved. I gleefully charged down the street in my motor scooter. It was easy to handle but on my way to Darby's place I spotted the coolest yellow Lamborghini. I only got a brief look at it before it had sped past at a good fifty something miles an hour. With a smirk I flipped a latch and activated some of the less...legal functions of the scooter. With a turn of a knob and a bit of shifting, I was squealing delightfully at a smooth 75 MPH.

The driver of the Lambo gave a honk when I blew a raspberry while passing it up but was quick to follow after me. It pulled up next to me and kept pace with relative easy. The moment we both came to a stop at a traffic light the engine revved and I understood.

"You sure you want a race big guy?" I chuckled devilishly.

"…" the Lamborghini's engine roared once more.

"Alright then, you asked for it." I flashed a smile, "Aaaannnd...GO!"

With that said I took off at a rapid pace that quickly climbed to nearly one hundred and something miles an hour. The Lambo honked in surprise as it sped up, having gravely underestimated my capabilities. Yeah buddy, 90 MPH is totally gonna mean something here. It thundered after me and caught up pretty quick. I waved a salute and the car jiggled while driving. I cocked a head at it and gave another big burst of speed, chalking up the quiver of the body to engine stress. Leaving the Lamb in my dust, it honked angrily this time and sped past me once more...sadly at such a speed that even upgrades weren't going to help me now.

Instead, I merely cut my losses and slowed down to turn onto Darby's rapidly oncoming street. If the owner got confused, he'd probably just assume the truth that'd he'd won. No chip off my shoulder to admitting defeat, even if I didn't like it.

Finally Darby's house came into my field of vision, and I saw something I'd rather I hadn't seen. Jack was in the process of getting tossed out of his front door; a lone figure of a well kept man appeared in the doorway. He began to yell at Jack at the top of his lungs and chucked a beer bottle in the poor teen's general direction. A pang of empathy shot through my nerves as my heart reached out for Jack. He did his best to scramble out of the beer bottle's path but soon found no need to. After the poorly aimed bottle shattered against the sidewalk behind him, Jack's former father let out a disgusted snort and slammed the door shut, rattling the windows. I saw Darby freeze up and try to gather himself. A moment passed before he walked over to the sidewalk and sat down, curling into a tight ball.

I walked my scooter silently along the sidewalk, unsure of what to say as he sat there, trembling slightly. I sat myself next to him, making as little noise as possible. "Uh hey, everything will be okay." I soothed, awkwardly patting his back.

Jack jolted with a yelp of shock and nearly smacked my hand away.

"Hey don't yell at me." I scolded, trying to lighten the situation.

"H-How much of that...d-did you see? Any of it?" He spluttered.

"Hate to break it to you, but I saw the whole damn shebacle." I admitted.

Jack groaned inwardly and curled up once more on the sidewalk. Against my better judgement, I grabbed him and shook him…hard.

"Pull it together! You don't have to deal with this for the rest of the day so get over it! You've avoided doing our art project for days now and I'm not leaving or stopping myself from bugging you until you get up off your ass and do this project with me!" I shouted with vengeance, doing my best to pull his thoughts away from the incident.

"O-okay jeeze, calm down." He replied, raising a wary brow.

"Oh huff it, I'm perfectly calm thank you very much." I retorted with a cluck of my tongue and handed him my spare scooter. Well...more like Mowgli's illegal scooter that she's not old enough to ride, but minor details and such.

"What's with the scooter?" he asked.

"Get on it."

"No way!"

"Why not?"

"It's pink."

"So?" I paused, "Well, actually the correct color term would be Misty Rose."

"So?! Look, it's just pink, okay? And guys don't ride pink scooters."

"I've rode it!"

"But you're a girl!"

"Your point being?"

"Girls can pull off the whole pink...thing! Girls like pink."

"I HATE PINK."

"Either way I'm not getting on."

"Jack."

"What?"

"Get on the Misty Rose scooter."

"No."

"Jack."

"WHAT!?"

"RAWR!"

I tackled the poor boy, shoved him on the scooter, and pressed auto pilot. He zoomed off at roughly 30 MPH towards the Warehouse, the current Auto setting for Mowgli's Motor Scooter. Funny thing though, he screamed like a girl in the midst of a hissy fit. He would wake up his neighbors. I mounted my silver scooter once more and followed after him. It was a miracle he hadn't fallen off yet.

"Wahoo!" I squealed joyfully.

"You find this fun?!" cried jack in disbelief.

"Hell yeah!" I roared, laughing as the adrenaline widened my smile.

Sliding up to him I gave the handle a twist and laughed like a maniac when he shot forward, his speed leapt up about 20 pegs. He scowled and zoomed after me as I sped past with a taunting raspberry. Personally, I found going down hills at a vehicle's top speed to be one of the most thrill-inducing things in the world. I roared with laughter at the terrified look on poor Jack's face.

It didn't take too long to ride past city limits and into the long roads. Turning off into one of the outer roads, I lead Jack along the easiest path to the Warehouse. Contrary to popular belief, I wasn't sadistic enough to make the poor teen parkour at high speeds with a scooter.

I had some self restraint.

Just as everything began to calm down, well for as calming as the open road could make someone, a rumble shook the ground. Without warning a laser made itself present. I screamed in surprise and swerved to avoid hitting it. With a curse I fell off the scooter -at high speeds no less- and went skittering across the nearby forest floor. My knees and arms became terribly scraped up.

The soft side of my forearms were bloody and a mess of torn up meat. I groaned inwardly. Another shot fired against the tree to my right. The base of the tree imploded in on itself and began to fall; landing in a pile of dirt to my right. Dust and grit was tossed into the air around me clouding my vision and burying me in a clump of matter. The dirt settled everywhere in my field of vision including in my eyes. I hissed with pain as the debri left me with blurry and ergo impaired vision. I tried to breathe in but only got lungs full of grime. I coughed up mud and acid.

I couldn't even crawl away as my arms bled and my legs tried their best to regain control of their normal functions, I was immobile for the time being. I stared fragilely at the sky above me. Another shot landed to my left, though far away to only blast my rag doll body into the tree. I saw in shatters now.

Fearing for my life, now that stage had passed. Now I was doing my best to accept that this was how I would die. I prayed to god that he would take care of my sister. I prayed for Mowgli and Jack. I hoped with all my might that they were either alright or would soon be that way. After a few minutes I realized the shots becoming more consistent and the three strange blobs in the corner of my vision. There was a blue blob, a red blob, and a yellow one. I tried to tilt my head; the yellow blobs paint color seemed very familiar. I saw the blobs take movement and the blue one took a sudden step back as if shocked. I believe he started to point in my direction. The red blob blocked them from moving forward and it looked like he was arguing with the other blobs. I had decided that they were all male. The yellow blob shoved past the red one and moved closer to me until he stood over me.

I could barely make out a face but could tell that the blob was gargantuan. Like twenty-one feet tall or something in height. Two black things that resembled misshapen hands slid under my back and lifted me higher and higher. That's when I heard the laser shot again. The blobs hit the dirt…all of them. The one that held me fell to his knees and crouched over me as the sound of laser against metal rang in my ears. I heard what I thought was a grunt and tried to turn my head without luck. I felt movement, but it was strained. Almost immediately the rough and turbulent movements became too much for my busted body to handle. The sheer force of the pain and stinging raced across the better half of my nerves as my body gave out. I suddenly and very violently saw black take gain of my vision causing me to flick out like a light.  
**  
~oOo~ INITIATING TIME LAPSE - UNSPECIFIED**

**~oOo~ LOCATION - UNKNOWN  
**   
Banging rang around me. I turned, annoyed by the sounds. I just barely managed to suppress a complaint as it continued to ring while I struggled to wake up with a splitting headache to boot.

Why couldn't I be blacked out in peace? I felt something sharp piercing my arm. I attempted to open my eyes, hoping to find the source of the pain, but could only manage to flicker them pathetically. I kept up the efforts and was finally able to crack open my eyes.

The first thing I saw should've made me scream...Instead I choked and just kinda stared in shock. The other being in the room blinked back at me, apparently having noticed that I had roused. After we had both blinked at each other a few times I finally processed what I was looking at. It was a giant orange and white face made of metal. It had these intense but bright blue eyes. I guess they were called optics since it appeared to be some sort of robot; but it was obvious it wasn't man-made.

It was too intricately put together to be made by human hand. I opened my mouth then closed it again a few times before the other one decided they should speak first.

"So you're awake, finally. For a human you heal surprisingly fast." He huffed backing his face away from mine. "Though I suppose the nanites could be attributed to your recovery."

"I'm…uh, guessing you put me back in good health? So, thanks for that." I replied awkwardly, stumbling over my words. The larger being studied me, a curious look on his face.

"That's not what you humans usually say at first." He snorted, though seemed unamused. "Usually it's just screaming or gawking."

"Mind if I ask where I am, or what happened?" I inquired, hoping I didn't annoy him.

"Since you asked nicely," he muttered, "I guess I'll be shouldering the explanation this time."

"Thank you…sir." I replied hesitantly. The bot gave me an odd look before turning to face me fully.

"By now I'm sure you've noticed my appearance differs from your standard government drone."

"Yeah, I did notice. You're too...intricate to be man-made." I agreed crinkling my nose.

The orange bot gave -what I assumed was- an uncharacteristic laugh. It sounded a little strained like he never had done so before, or at least didn't laugh often. I got the feeling this guy was pretty grumpy. My nose crinkled a bit more at the thought. When he composed he regarded me with another odd look. He almost seemed please with me.

"I'll agree with you in that regard." He turned and began to work as he spoke. "We are a race of autonomous non-biological beings hailing from a once-glorious planet we called Cybertron." He sighed wistfully, "We are a complex race with the capacity to feel emotions, pain, have independent thought, and even...love."

"So in simple terms...you are robotic, sentient, alien being?" I raised a brow.

The bot nodded.

"So why are you here on earth? Did something happen to your home planet? War, maybe?" I asked getting the strangest feeling I was right. The bot gave me a surprised look.

"Yes actually, our planet was consumed by war and the Decepticons…" he started.

"Who?" I asked then realizing I had been rude, "Oh, uh sorry for interrupting."

"It's is alright, the Decepticons are the other Faction in this war -us as Autobots against them-. Your planet happened to be a depository of sorts for energon quite a few millennia ago. Since our planet was ravaged, Energon -our lifeblood- has become scarce." He scowled. "The Cons' have been scouring this planet's Energon reserves just as we are. Sometimes it feels like more of a battle to survive than a true war." He elaborated.

"Wow, well I'm glad you guys are here. But it must be hard to go through something like losing your home planet. Nobody here on earth can claim knowing a pain like that." I mused aloud.

The bot regarded me with softer optics than before. "Pain is something that can never be measured. Everyone experiences great pain that matches no other. But even with that said some pain is still considered to be greater than others. I guess in some ways you are right, but in others you could be wrong. I will admit it is hard going on through his ongoing war with the Decepticons. Especially since our side is very noble but has its fair share of weak links." He replied deeply.

I nodded in reply. He wasn't wrong. Not at all.

"I won't bug you with more questions." I assured the large being when he tensed and gave me a skeptical glance. "So thanks for answering my questions."

He visibly relaxed and continued to work. Though it wasn't long before he spoke up again. "Ah, I forgot to mention, you are currently in Autobot Headquarters. Speak to no one of its location." He grew very serious, "While you may be safe for now, I'd advise against opening your mouth. Unless you prefer to be locked away?"

I felt my throat go dry. "Uh, yeah...no thanks. I'm fine…"

He huffed and turned back to his project. "My name is Ratchet, by the way. The Autobot CMO."

I chuckled at his drastic subject change. "It's...fitting I guess. I'm Harmonia."

"I know. I accessed your medical records."

Well, alright then. I sighed. "So...how'd I even get here anyway. I can't imagine cyberspace aliens have an easy time traversing the desert. At least...I'm assuming one of you brought me here."

"That would be correct. One of our soldiers, Sunstreaker, found you badly injured in the forest. For some reason, that vain bot brought you back here. A completely uncharacteristic stroke of compassion." He grumbled half to me half to himself. "Though it might have partially due to Jack's panic as well."

"Jack...as in Jack Darby?"

"Yes. He began this whole guardian mess in the first place."

I chose not to ask. Though it explained why I was here for the most part. "So giant alien camouflage?" I snorted at the thought, "What? Ya'll got invisibility shields or something?"

Ratchet turned to me with an amused expression. He gave a small wave of his hand to gain my attention. I looked to him and he motioned for me to watch. In a matter of seconds -accompanied by rather odd but cool noises- he compacted into an ambulance. My eyes widened with awe.

"Oh...you are so damn cool." I grinned at Ratchet as his ambulance mode shook in what I took assumed to be a snort or a laugh. Once he transformed back he stretched out his arms with a hiss of hydraulics.

"All of us have an alt mode -a vehicle mode- if you will. Sunstreaker is a Lamborghini." He told me with a hinted smirk.

"Woah...damn," I briefly thought back to this morning, "I can't even...just wow."

Ratchet regarded me with an odd stare. I could hear him muttering under his breath. "Stunned into silence...what a welcome change of pace."

I sat on the medical berth in silence for a few minutes, taking time to digest the massive influx of new...well, everything really. However, after those few minutes had passed, sudden yelling and banging caught our attention. In a matter of seconds the doors to the med bay were violently shoved open, causing them to swing and bang with crushing force against the wall. Three or four more Cybertronians crashed inside and sped towards the med table. I barely had time to rush out of the way and jump to a lower platform. Using one of the chrome poles supporting it, I slid safely to the floor and did my best to avoid the rapid movements of the Cybertronians , I had to resort to hiding under that table against a legs supporting the berth to avoid being smashed. After a few minutes things finally began to calm down; and I could actually make out what they were saying.

"Optimus, what happened?" Ratchet barked, slipping into Medical-Mode.

"Ironhide was clipped with Megatron's Plasma Cannon. He seems to have suffered considerable burns along his chassis plating." The largest bot explained.

"Everybot give Ratchet some room!" shouted a familiar yellow bot.

"C'mon back up a bit you guys!" continued a red bot.

My subconcious was screeching for me to move -or just do something- but I was frozen to the spot.

Before I could entertain the idea of dashing out of the medbay, the large bot -Optimus Prime- ushered everybody out of the Medbay and then left himself. I released a sigh I hadn't even realized I was holding. From the looks of it, Ratchet was hard at work trying to fix up this 'Ironhide' character. I mustered some courage a emerged from my hiding spot beneath the berth. Surprisingly, the other berths in the room had been equipped with smaller ladders, recently welded ones if the marks were anything to go by.

Either way, it didn't really matter to me so long as they worked. After taking a minute to shimmy up the silvery ladder, I settled for taking a seat to watch the CMO do his thing. His hands moved with practiced finesse I'd never seen before. It was almost as if the field of medicine had become an art to him. Maybe fifteen minutes had passed before Ratchet took a step back to survey his work, giving the black bot a nod of affirmation.

Ironhide sat up on the berth while Ratchet prepared a syringe over his worktable. Admittedly, Ironhide was huge. He seemed to be brimming with this intense presence, one I was beginning to feel the brunt of as he finally noticed my presence in the Bay. He raised a brow at me.

"Who's the new fleshling, doc?" He asked in a low voice as he observed me with a skeptical optic.

Ratchet froze and let out a groan, eliciting a laugh and a small wave from me as he gave me a sheepish look.

"I guess you got caught up in all the commotion, didn't you? Sorry about that." He muttered.

"It's alright. That was pretty hectic." I shrugged. Ratchet merely gave an indifferent huff and returned to his chemicals.

"So what's yer name, kid?" Ironhide asked.

"It's Harmonia, Harmonia Jones."

"Do ya' go by anythin' shorter?"

"Uh, some people call me Mona, but I don't really care for it." I shrugged.

"Mona it is then." He smirked.

"Oh, so you're gonna be that guy. Fantastic." I grumbled.

"Sure Mona', you're the new fleshling after all." He snickered, wincing when Ratchet returned with the syringe.

I watched -fascinated- as Ratchet shifted around Ironhide's armor to slip the syringe into a little hole between the seams of the metal. The Autobot shuddered. Apparently receiving shots were still unpleasant even to living technology. I smiled a little. The thought was somewhat sobering to put into perspective. It made the whole of them -or at least the two Cybertronians in front of me- feel a little more...human.

All in all Ironhide was patched up for the time being and left the Medical Bay with a grunt of thanks. I chuckled. He was like the grumpy relative who actually cares but doesn't like to admit it. How cute. I looked back to Ratchet to find him holding out his hand.

"What?" I asked.

"Step on. I'll take you to see the others." He said, moving his hand a bit closer.

"O-okay." I mumbled and carefully stepped onto the offered hand, stumbling at first. Though Ratchet was kind enough to catch me with his thumb, allowing me to hold onto it for stability.

"You'll get used to that." Ratchet sighed.

"What do you mean?" I raised a brow, "It's not like you'll have to carry me around all that much, I'm a pretty capable person, not to brag."

Ratchet snorted. "From past experiences, now that you know of our existence our leader, Optimus, will want a guardian assigned to you."

"A guardian? For what?" I gawked, "I'm perfectly fine on my own!"

"The Decepticons are not above using human children as hostages to 'negotiate' for supplies or surrender. It would be in the best interest of our cause -and your health- to assign someone to watch over you as precaution."

"Oh, lovely." I grumbled. "Do you have any guesses as to who?"

"Hm, it would likely be Sunstreaker. Not only did he bring you here but given the content of some of your files I personally think he might be a good choice." Ratchet gave me a meaningful look.

I bit my lip nervously, "C-content?"

"Illegal upgrades, banned fireworks, something called a...Kinder Egg…?" Ratchet elaborated with a raised brow.

"Oh yeah, that stuff…" I gave a sheepish shrug, "Whoops."

Ratchet rolled his optics and exited the Medical Bay with me in hand.

Once outside the Medbay, I saw a wide range of robots littered about what appeared to be the main room. They were a colorful and diverse bunch. They were also huge. All of them were absolutely colossal, at least in comparison to a human. I gawked at the scene before Ratchet slid me from his palm onto a platform with a few other humans playing videogames on a television. It took all of a few seconds for my nerves to smooth upon seeing a familiar pink and black set of punk pigtails.

Miko was definitely a sight for these sore eyes. While we weren't exactly what one might consider best friends, we certainly got along pretty well. Having her as a partner in class was an absolute blessing from time to time.

I looked to Ratchet to find him conversing with Optimus. The other Autobots hadn't seemed to really notice me yet. I was fine with that. They were admittedly a pretty intimidating bunch. I shrugged and padded over to the other humans, sitting on the floor close to where Miko sat on the couch. I nudged her playfully with my head, to get her attention, and she looked to me slightly annoyed.

Then all hints of any emotion other than wonder melted from her face.

"Harmonia…?" she gawked in disbelief.

"Sup, trouble?" I grinned and then nearly choked as her face split with a grin that spelled mischief.

Her eyes widened and I realized I had seconds to react. So I did.

I lunged forwards and latched onto her before she could shoot off the couch and knock Jack to the floor. I slapped a hand over her mouth in the midst of her triumphant cry, glaring in frustration. The sudden cut of noise garnered some attention, and any person or alien that looked was gifted with the sight of me restraining a rambunctious Japanese exchange student. Apparently this wasn't abnormal as most of them didn't look all that surprised to see some kind of commotion coming from the humans in the base. Though some did continue to stare at me.

Ducking my head in embarrassment, I forced myself to ignore the looks and centered my attention on Miko. After giving her a clear look of warning and receiving an affirmative look I removed my hand and she grinned like crazy.

"You're here!" her voice coming out a rasp, she was so excited. "I thought Jack was lying when he said someone new was joining our little band of humans!" She suddenly frowned, "Great, now I have to apologize for hitting him."

"Heh, not a bad idea…" I smiled softly. "Though, I'm glad you're here too."

We shared a grin but flinched as a sudden shout cut the air, ruining the moment and caught our attention.

"YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!"

I looked to Miko who caught my glance before we both scanned for the source. We found a yellow robot giving Prime an indignant glare. Optimus stared right back with a disapproving expression.

"What do you mean, Sunstreaker?" he inquired trying to stay calm.

"I mean that I am a front-line warrior, not a babysitter to a teenager!" he protested angrily.

"Yes, but you seem to know one another. I recall you being the one to bring her here when returning from your patrol." He paused to sigh, "In addition, street surveillance showed you two were racing this morning, something we strictly forbade to ensure secrecy and safety."

Ironhide gave me a look. "You two raced?"

"Please don't bring me into this." I muttered.

Optimus regarded me carefully before turning his attention back to Sunstreaker. The yellow front-liner was giving me a scathing glare.

"Miko, where's the exit?" I asked, tone hushed.

"C'mon I'll show you." She grinned, though seemed tense, "I'll give you the Grand Tour while Sunny works out his pissbaby issues."

I snorted.

"Cool, thanks man." I grinned.

She took my hand letting go temporarily so we could go down the ladder. I slid down after her, and once I was safely on the ground she nabbed my hand again and began to tug me along down a hall. The silo was admittedly pretty interesting and it was amusing to watch Miko interact with some of the Bot's that happened to pass. She and Jazz were -by far- a perfect example of two peas in a pod. I laughed when he stooped down to greet her with a bizarre handshake. The two seemed like great friends all in all.

By the time we had finally made it to the 'back door' of sorts, in addition to locating my scooters with a bit of help on Jazz's part, it had been just over an hour since the 'Tour' had begun. There was actually a small, creeping sense of sadness about the whole thing.

"Hey thanks I owe you one." I said as gratefully as I could manage.

"You're gonna leave, aren't you?" She asked, immediately looking disappointed.

Damn, I hated that kicked puppy look.

"Yeah man, sorry...but I'm not letting anyone drive me home. Especially Sunny Rainbows and Sparkles back there." I shrugged.

"I get it. But come back okay? Give it a chance."

"But-."

"C'mon, I know it's weird but this place can be a total sausage fest sometimes!" She groaned, "At least consider crashing the party, get it?"

I couldn't say no to that. "Okay, okay. I'll definitely come back, at some point."

"Sweet!" She pumped her fist and the exuberance was nearly infectious.

Offering a silly bow before I left, I gave a final goodbye before finally leaving the Silo. I thanked my lucky stars that the damage to my silver Motor Scooter was strictly cosmetic and eagerly mounted it. With a rev of the gas I was soon speeding through the desert, surprised to find that I already kinda knew where this place was. From the outside looking in, the Autobot base looked like any other plain ole' plateau!

I could appreciate that. The Autobot base was something they should be proud of. Once I had shook off the initial excitement, I gunned the accelerator and zoomed off an exceptionally high dune. Once going airborne, I did a series of reverse-rotation flips before landing at a slant on the sand and gritty dirt. I gave a gleeful shriek as a smug thought came to mind.

'I'd like to see that damn Lamborghini do something like that!'  
**  
~oOo~ MIKO POV INITIATED**

**~oOo~ LOCATION - AUTOBOT HQ - MAIN ROOM  
**   
I entered the main room to find an uneasy tension in the air, an immediate mood killer to all the fun I had just had. Sighing, I did my best to act casual as I climbed the ladder, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that Harmonia wasn't with me anymore.

Unfortunately plan ALPHA-CASUAL 0.1 a no go as a certain yellow pissbaby plucked me off the railing by the back of my shirt and spun me around. With a yelp, I scrambled to grab the hem of my shirt and yank it down before anything was revealed. Sunstreaker held me up at face level, a peeved look on his feature as I glared at him.

"Where is she?" he demanded.

"Who?" I smirked, two could play the asshole game, buddy.

"The girl you idiot." He snapped impatiently.

"Harmonia?" I feigned confusion.

"YES HER, WHO ELSE?!" he roared, already fed up with my antics.

"She left a while ago." I smirked, "Took off without a look back."

"What?" He glowered. I swallowed nervously, but steeled my nerves.

I was an honorary Wrecker! This golden vanity queen was not going to intimidate me.

"Did I stutter? She left, gone, out the back door of the base! Zoomed down the road back to Jasper!" I huffed. "She wasn't going to let you drive her so she just did it herself."

"That annoying glitch of a femme." He growled.

Without so much as a backwards glance, the golden twin dropped me above the platform and transformed. The Lamborghini's engine revved and Sunstreaker sped off at breakneck speed just as I landed on the metal walkway ground.

"You're welcome!" I called out angrily and rubbed my throbbing behind.  
**  
~oOo~ SUNSTREAKER POV INITIATED**

**~oOo~ LOCATION - JASPER, NEVADA DESERT  
**   
'That irritating femme flashsack. How in the pit could she think running off would be the sensible thing to do. Damn it, if Prime find out-.' I scowled and upped my speed. 'When I get my servos on her she's gonna wish she was still lying on the ground in woods!'

My audials twitched as I heard a faint yelling. A rage burned inside as the joyful shouts got louder. Well, at least someone was having fun on this miserable planet. I sneered once I discovered specifically who had been making all the noise. It was that infuriating girl and she was doing the flips at high speeds off the tall dunes. An impressive feat, given her size and stature, though overall it was pretty repetitive.

I watched her until I grew bored -which didn't take all that long- and made a sharp turn off the road in her direction. She cried out in alarm when she noticed I was coming right for her and struggled to swerve out of my path.

'Pay attention. Maybe next time you won't have to swerve so hard.'

"Hey! Watch it man!" she yelled, her brows furrowed in anger.

I skidded to the stop as flung open the door for her, "Get in." I demanded.

"Never…"she hissed.

"Let me rephrase that; you don't have a choice, so get in and stop wasting my time."

"I just said never." She snarled and got to her feet. I felt a cold chill race through me lines.

Her tone wasn't what unnerved me; it was the confident, completely unintimidated gaze she sported. Her eyes were hard set, glinting with a challenge. Before I could snap at her again, she tensed, the look of confidence melting away as her attention snapped to one side. Her eyes grew; whatever caught her eye filling her with -not fear- but pure excitement.

Admittedly, my curiosity was peaked. My scans hadn't picked up anything. So if she saw something…

I bristled.

"What are you staring at?" I barked, repositioning myself to look in the direction she was. I didn't see a thing. "What the pit? What are you seeing that I can't?"

"…" I received no reply.

"Kid! What the pit are you…kid?" I asked. She wasn't beside me anymore. "What the pit?"

I swerved around just in time to see her riding off into the forest beside the road. She turned briefly to yell at me, a primus forsaken smirk dominating her features.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU FELL FOR THAT!" she called loudly.

I felt my frame burn hot with rage...that little brat-!

"KID YOU ARE A DEAD CORPSE!" I shouted, infuriated.

I revved my engine and gunned the accelerator. In seconds I was speeding after the escapee with a dangerous rage burning my spark hot. However, that fleshbag's scooter had some speed as well. It kept ahead of me pretty well until I hit forest a little ways behind it. I felt triumph as sped off a hill, sending me into the air. My body transformed in mid-air, easily catching the human off guard. Now that I could run after her on pede, she had no chance.

I caught up to her in no time. I reached down to grab her but she leaned sideways, sliding under my hand. I tried to nab her again but she pulled to one side this time causing me to miss. I snarled. This was ridiculous. No more fun and games. I dove for her now. I caught her in a crushing grip. She squeaked as her scooter skittered out of our reach. I raised the fist that held her at face level.

"I caught you, you little heathen. And you're not going to like what I do next." I growled lowly, glowering at her trembling but somehow defiant form.

This girl had guts…

Though she'd be lucky if she wasn't staring at them by the time I got done with her.  
**  
~oOo~ CHAPTER ENDING ACHIEVED**

**~oOo~ INITIALIZING AUTHOR'S NOTES**

**~oOo~ PLEASE PROCEED TO AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**Wow, from 4,500 to 6,200. Holy christ on a trike! That's a lot of words...and editing. Guh. What's worse? Chapter 3 is already over 6,000 words. Ugh...editing...but, I am committing myself to this. After reading through some of the reviews people left and then reading the chapters...I don't even know what's going on some of the time.**

**So hooray, Chapter 2 is revised! Onto the next! And BTW, if any of you want to know what Harmonia looks like, or her scooter, or just whatever in the story, I have a DeviantArt page under the Pen Name MechaMoonStone. Just check that out for some cool stuff!**

*** When I say 'motor scooter* I don't mean the ones with seats, I mean the one's you normally peddle. Now I know, 100 MPH kinda defies natural physics. But physics be damned. If Optimus Prime can have a biological human daughter in a FanFiction story and it be okay, my little speed issues can be overlooked, agreed?**

**~oOo~ AUTHOR NOTE - FINALIZING**

**~oOo~ THANK YOU FOR READING - HAVE A PLEASANT DAY**

**~oOo~ BEFORE EXITING THROUGH THE BACK BUTTON PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING A REVIEW TO THE CLEAR BOX BELOW ACCESSED THROUGH THE USE OF A CURSOR OR FINGERTIP FOLLOWED BY THE USE OF A KEYBOARD OR KEYPAD**


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